Printing press sheet delivery apparatus



May 14, 1940. H. E. s'roLPER PRINTING PRESS SHEET DELIVERY APPARATUS Filed May 6, 1939 INVENTOR. flarzyzip'i'over 11 22 ATTORNEY.

Patented May 14, 1940 I UNITED srars PRINTING PaEss SHEET DELIVER I APPARATUS Harry E. Stolper, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Mail & Express Printing Co., Inc, New York, N.'Y'., a, corporation of New York Application: May 6, 1939, Serial No.. 272,094

, 9 Claims.

-'I-hisinvention relates to printing-press sheetdelivery apparatus; and, more particularly, the invention aims toprovide an improvedfmeans for employing air under pressure in controlling and :safeguarding the deposit in a stack or delivery pile of successive printed sheets as they are delivered one by one from a printing press having a reciprocating carriage each forward stroke of which transports a single printed sheet, printed side uppermost, from the printingmechanism, to the locus of said stack or pile, and in which printing pressthe sheet delivery apparatus so operates that, incidental to performance of a re traction stroke by the carriage, the printed sheet leaves the carriage to drop by gravity on the de livery pile so that on arrival of the sheet on the pile the printed side of the sheet'is still upper .most. 1

Although the. inventioncan be used advanta geously in connection with any printing press incorporating a delivery apparatus having a re ciprocating carriage for delivering the printed sheets intermittently to the delivery pile, and directly thereto, that is, without an intervening oscillation of aflyer toturn over the sheet to reverse the position of its printed side to have that side lowermost when the sheet addsitself to thedelivery pile,-especial1y where the speed of the press is very high in terms of printed sheets per minute,--the invention will, for convenience, and in aid of clarity ofexposition thereof, but not in any way to imply any limitation, be explained inregard to its use with the delivery apparatus of a flat-bed cylinder press. A well known press of this kind is the Miehle fiat-bed cylinder press, towhich pressa now favored type of embodiment of the present invention has been applied, and inconnection with which press said embodiment is now, and for some time has been, working perfectly. This Miehle press, as is well known, has a speed of about 1500 to 2000 printed sheets per hour.

In a delivery apparatus of the kind to which the invention pertains, a single new printed sheet,

,. printed side uppermost, is freed from the carriage, following release of the leading. or front end. of the sheet and concomitant interposition of a stop to abut against the rear: or tail end of the sheet, by withdrawal of the carriage from under the sheet incidental to performance by the carriage of its retraction stroke. The released sheet must drop, particularly at its tall or printing-cylinder-adjacent end, that is, at thesheet end which is last let go of by the withdrawing carriage, so. as to be out of the way of the forward end. of the; carriage when the carriage makes its next forward stroke. Unless the sheet thus drops very quickly,'the next. forward stroke of the carriage, completed within. less than. a secend after release by the carriage of the tail end of the sheet, will result in the carriage engaging the sheet, ruining. it ,..and necessitating stoppage of iepress.

The printed sheets are often of light-weight and; great. expanse and. so the difficultyis a very serious one. As a result, complicated and expensive suction. systems aimed at overcoming the trouble have'been developed. 1 One such, developed for the Miehle press aforesaid, and requiring that press tobe rebuilt, is characterized by the use of. a. plurality of exhaust fans, special motors there-for, and elaborate devices including rotatable sucker-drums on the carriage for acting, on the underside of the sheet to insure withdrawal of the carriagejfromunder the sheet to free the latter over the delivery pile during the retraction stroke of the carriage, and av fixed. line of large-bore sucker-throats having, their mouths arranged horizontally across the press at a level below the carriage and above the top of the delivery pile, for sucking away the cushion of air between the top of the delivery pile. and a downfloating sheet as it is released from the carriage, in an attempt to prevent that sheet from floating so long. in a position above the top of. the pile as to runthe chance of its being crumbled by the carriage on the next forward stroke of the latter, bringing the next printed sheet for transfer to the delivery pile.

According to the present invention, such complicationsas these are dispensed with, and, instead, an air control is provided which is as dependable in operation as it is simple in concept and structure. And it is so simple in structure thatit can readily be used by easy and. quick attachrnent to a press already built, installed, and even in use; as against necessitating the building of a special; press for obtaining its advantages.

I. am aware that it has been proposed to employ air under pressure which acts positively, that is, by positive air-blast pressure applied to the sheet while on its way from the printing mechanism to the delivery pile, as well asv to place air under pressure. for the purpose of having air under negative pressure. or suction act on the sheet while in delivery.

A. feature of the present invention, however, is that an air-blast is delivered from an outlet moved back and forth with the. carriage, and. with such. outlet located below the plane of the sheet on the carriage, and near, but preferably somewhatbeyond, the front end of the carriage;

whereby on a forward stroke of the carriage this air-blast acts downwardly on the last previously deposited sheet while sweeping over the same.

the sheet just deposited and by way of any air cushion remaining between 'that sheet and the j previously deposited sheet.

Another feature of the invention is'that this air-blast is discharged from its outlet in a forward as well as a downward direction, so that during bothforward and retraction strokes of the carriage this blast acts thrustingly along the general plane of each down-floating sheet, away from the tail end of the latter and toward the front end thereof. Said outlet is preferably constituted as a horizontally extending" line of orifices in. a conduit arranged transverse to the press; and the air-blast is established by forcing continuously maintained jets of air under pressure through said orifices so as to provide an airstream of a width substantially equalling the width of the carriage. "Such air-stream, and its handling as above, have been found to insure driving out of the air cushion between the top of the delivery pile and a sheet deposited by the carriage for fiatwise gravity drop to the pile, by positive downward squeeze so obliquely exerted that the tail end of said sheet is always forced to a location to clear the'carriage on its next forward stroke, practically regardless of the thinness and limpne'ss of the-sheet and of its degree of expanse, even with the press running at maximum speed. r

7 Another feature of the invention is, in combination with an air-blast meansas just described, a second such means, this for delivering an air- 3 stream like the one first-mentioned from an out- 50 let which is also moved back and forth with the carriage, but which is located above the plane of sheet lie on the carriage, and intermediate the front and rear ends of the carriage, preferably fairly close to the front endofth'e carriage. This second outlet is also preferably constituted as a substantially horizontally extending line of air-- jet orifices in a conduit extended transverse to the press; but such conduit is desirably a. rockable one, so that in one position, which it maintains during a forward stroke of the carriage, it delivers its air-stream in one direction,-that'is, preferably substantially'vertically downwardly, to assist in holding the portion of the sheet behind the lead-.

ing edge of the sheet down fiat on the carriage, and so that in another position, which it assumes on release of. the sheet at the completion of a forward stroke of the carriage and which it re tains during the ensuing retraction stroke of the carriage, it delivers its air-stream in another di rection, that is, in a direction substantially parallelling that of the first-named air-stream, to act cumulatively relative to the latter in the work done thereby during a retraction stroke of the carriage as already described.

- The invention will be more clearly understood,

from the following description of an embodiment of the invention now favored (because the one substantially on the line I'! of Fig. 3, through the sheet-delivery apparatus of the-Miehle press above referred to, asslightly modified to incorporate said embodiment; this view showing the reciprocating carriage just about at the starting of its forward stroke.

' 'Fig. 2 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1, showing the reciprocating carriage at the' completion of its forward stroke.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view, showing,

certain details which might not be entirely clear from merely the other two views.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, the

standard and usual parts of said Miehle press,

such of them as are illustrated in the drawing,

will first be described. Onlyenough of these parts are shown which are needful or helpful to; a full understanding of the instant invention.

At ,5 is indicated a portion of the system of delivery tapes for delivering the printed sheet, printed side uppermost, from the printing mechanism (not shown), to the reciprocating carriage. This carriage is generally designated 6, and is for" transporting the printed sheet, printed side still uppermost, to a position overlying the platform 'l for receiving the printed sheets, printed side still uppermost, and one by one, to accumulate a stack of said sheets to a predetermined total.v Said stack, or delivery'pile, is marked 8. The

platform carries horizontally adjustable'end posts 1 la, and similarly adjustableside posts "lb, se'tto delimit an area on the platform appropriate to that of the sheet'being printed. Said platform,

by well-known means not shown, is gradually manually lowerable, as the heightof the pile increases, properly to lower the top of the-pile, but

so as always to have the top of the pile notvfar below the plane of sheet lie on the carriage during performance by the latterof its forward or sheet-transporting stroke; The reciprocationv of the carriageis effected by a simple crank motion a link of which'is indicated at 9; Said plane of sheet lie is a horizontal'one, provided by the tops of a line of fly-sticks l0 forming part of the carriage. These sticks Ill all extend parallelly, in the direction of travel of the carriage, and they are spaced across the carriage in the direction of width of the press, to provide a skeletal flat bed,

hereinafter called the fly-stick bed. As components of the fly-stick bed, the sticks l0 do'not move relative to the forward wheeled structure of the carriage, in the sheet delivery apparatus of the kind being described; although the narrower rear ends of the sticks are free, the sticks are anchored at their forward ends to. a cross-rod. II which is secured at its opposite ends to two-like sub-carriages I 2'against rotation relative thereto.

Each of these sub-carriages l2-mounts at its for-.

ward and rear ends flange-type rollers l4, and each pair of such rollers at the opposite side of the delivery apparatus rides on the horizontal upper edge of a side bar l5, as a track; The tread of each sub-carriage is long enough to allow the weight of the carriage to hold the fly-stick bed are secured thereto bracket-extensions l ,6 w hich 75 support theends of the fly-sticks adjacent to the cross-rod.

These bracket-extensions l6 have table portions IBa located'forward of and above the top of the cross-rod ll, so as in advance of the latter to present fiat and. horizontal top surfaces in the same plane with the top surfaces of the flysticks, Ill aligned therewith. With the carriage as: shown in Fig. 1,.that is, at the end of a retraction stroke and about to start a forward stroke, a. printed sheet, S, has been advanced by the tapes I to lie as shown in that view, that is, with the forward portion of said sheet on said table portions= Ilia .and with the leading or front edge of said sheet flush with the front ends of said table portions. This flush set of the sheet is due to abutment of the: front edge thereof against a line of stops spaced across the press, one over each table portion So; which stops, as they are called in the art, are indicated at l! and will hereinafter be called the placer-fingers. These fingers are downwardly and. forwardly inclined from a line of support extending across the carriage, and hence are bodily moved with the carriage. Also, they are moved in unison up and down at suitable times, by fractional rotation of their com mon support, through means (not shown) operatively connected. to a'power-driven element of the press.

Another line of pivotally mounted stops is indicated at l8, these also arranged in a line across the. press, but with their pivotal support fixed and. relative to which the carriage moves; which stops, as they are called in the art, will hereinafter be called the take-off fingers. These fingers, secured to a. cross-rod it extended between the. side bars l5, are rocked. in unison between the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, through. means (not shown) also operatively connected' to a. power-driven element of the press.

Operation The printed sheet S is advanced by the tapes 5 to come to rest on the carriage as shown in Fig. 1, and with the forward edge of the sheet caught by the placer-fingers 11, at the instant the carriage is ready to perform its forward stroke for delivery of the sheet to the pile. When the car ,riage has completed this stroke, to advance the sheet S to the position shown in Fig. 2, the placerfingers l1 rise, as there shown; and simultaneously the take-off fingers l8 swing up vertical, as in Fig. 2. Thereby, on the immediately ensuing retraction stroke of the carriage, the sheet is left behind and over the pile location, in the hope that such sheet will drop flat on the top of the stack.

Unless said sheet thus drops, and quickly, the next forward stroke of the carriage will catch it,

. ruin it, and necessitate stopping the press.

following completion of the retraction stroke of the carriage to return the carriage to the position shown in Fig. 1, from floating so long in such a disposition as that indicated at S as to run the chance of it being crumpled by the carriage on the next forward stroke of the carriage.

Now to describe the exemplifying embodiment of the present invention illustrated in the drawing:

For providing the air-blast stream last discussed in the. introduction hereofiythere is simply substituted, for a. solid cross-rod (-not shown) standard in the Miehle press,and on which cross-rod the placer-fingers H are secured by individual collars and set-screws like those shown in Figs. 1 and 3 at 20 and 2|, respectively, as carried by the upper end of the finger I! thereseen,a hollow rod, or pipe, 22, of. the same external diameter as the diameter of said solid cross-rod.

This pipe 2 2 has a line of orifices along itsunderside, so that when air under pressure is admitted to one end of said pipe, as by a rubber hose 3, attached to a nipple 24 on the: pipe and carrying a cook 25' for shutting off the air or regulating its pressure, the air-blast stream last discussed in the introduction hereof will be dis-.-

charged downwardly across the width of the: press.

Since the pipe 22, in addition to its new function of providing an outlet for establishing such air-blast stream, has all the functions of the solid cross-rod it displaces, the pipe 22 is rocked by the means for rocking said cross-rod, thereby, in properly timed relation to the movement of thecarriage, to dispose the placer-fingers IT as in Fig. 1 or as in Fig. 2, this air-blast stream is directed as shown by the arrow 26 in Fig. 1 over a predetermined interval of operation of the press, and as shown by the arrow 21 in Fig. 2- over another predetermined interval of operation of the press.

For providing the air-blast stream hereinabove first-mentioned, all that is added to the standard Miehle press illustrated, is a second pipe 285,, arranged horizontally across the width. of the press like the pipe 22, and having also a line of air-jet orifices. The horizontal lineof these orifices, however, is toward the forward side of the pipe 28, so that when air under pressure is admitted. toone end. of said pipe, as. by a rubber hose 28 attached to a nipple 30 on the pipe and carrying a cock 31 for shutting off or regu lating the air pressure, said air-blast stream will be delivered in the direction of the arrow 3-2 of Fig. 1.

This air-blast stream is always delivered in the same direction; since pipe 28,, although mounted on the carriage for movement therewith, is fixed against rotation, being anchored at opposite ends in a pair of hangers one of which is shown at 33 and the other of which is at the opposite side of the carriage, both of these hangers rigidly clamped to the cross-rod H;

These hangers are of the double-strap type and.

hence quickly and easily installed.

At 34 is shown a third pipe, also extending across the press, and. located ahead of the airblast pipe 28. This pipe 34 is a gas-supplying one, having a horizontal line of orifices at its for-- ward side, to provide a gas-burner which when ignited delivers a flame as indicated; and its use as such burner is at times valuable for warming the air above the delivery pile to hasten drying of the ink on. the printed sheets. This pipe, mounted in an ideal location for its purpose, on the carriage so as to move back and forth with the latter, and thus mounted by the same hangers 33 which mount the air-blast pipe 28, is a feature of the invention which acts perfectly for its intended purpose during running of the press" while the air-blast streams of the invention'are employed to control and safeguard the deposit on the delivery pile 8 of the successive printed sheets as they are freed one by one from the carriage.

to the operation'of these air-blast streams:

The air-blast stream from the pipe 22 has two functions. curelyholds down the forward portion of the sheet S at a point somewhat in rear of the placerfingers l1, so there is no possible slip of the sheet on the fly-stick bed, while the carriage is performing its forward stroke, that is, is moving 3 from the position of Fig. 1 to that of Fig. 2.

This insures that the take-off fingers l8 will sure- 3 1y be effective to catch the tail end of the sheet,

when said fingers are swung up as shown in Fig. 2.

The other function of this air-blast from the pipe 22 is to cooperate with the air from the pipe 28 during-the next ensuing retraction stroke of the carriage, in the work which the last-mentioned air-blast is to do during both strokes of the act on the top of, and through, the sheet S, after 1 carriage. p

The function of the air from the pipe 28 is to the latter is released over the pile 8, by withdrawal 3 of the carriage from under said sheet in the retraction stroke of the carriage following the sheet to the position shown in Fig. 2; the cari riage during said retraction stroke leaving the forward stroke of the carriage which brought said sheet over the pile 8, because during such stroke 3 the take-off fingers I8 remain vertical;

sheet now being considered, the air from the l pipe 28-first acts on that sheet by being swept .from the left to the right in Fig. 2, but with the air-blast striking the sheet at such an oblique angle thereto, that is, approaching the top of the sheet in a direction inclined toward the front or left-hand end of the sheet in Fig. 2, that the air cushion Y is driven out as at X, so quickly, and in such manner, thatthe natural tendency of the sheet to drop first to the disposition S is combatted and the tail end of the sheet is dropped safely before the carriage can arrive subsequently at any position interceptive of the sheet.

Still considering the sheet last-mentionedthe air fromthe pipe '28 next, during the ensuing forward stroke of the" carriage to bring another sheet over the pile 8, acts on the former sheet by being again swept thereover, but this time from the right to the left in Fig. 1, yet still so that'the air-blast will approach the sheetin a downward direction inclined toward the front end of the'sheet.

- During any forward stroke of the carriage, it is only the air-blast from the pipe 28 which bears ,down on a still floating previously freed sheet or sheets (as'during such carriage stroke the airblast from the pipe 22 is applying itself as and for the purpose just above described on the sheet now being transported by the carriage to location over? the pile 8). But during each retraction stroke of the carriage, both air-blasts are acting cumulatively of each other on a still floating previously freed sheet or sheets, as the just precedingly freed sheet, say now at the location S in Fig. 2, and if need be on the second precedingly freed sheet, say now at the location S", and consequently having interposed between it and the top of the file'a secondary air cushion Y".

In any stroke of the carriage, either a forwardone or a retraction one, there is positive- 701 pressure squeeze applied to any still floating previously freed sheet or sheets, and applied thereto in such manner not only to insure lining up of the front ends of all thesheets in the pile 8 against the adjacent end posts la, but to clear away, as required. in the direction of Lthearrow This air-blast impositively but se- As to the i used without others.

X, the air-cushion Y, and any secondary air.

cushions, as the air-cushion Y. Y The pressure of the air is varied according-to the weight and type of paper for the sheetsbeing.

printed; however, actual long-continued and continuous operation has shown that for an under standard, or light-weight paper, say 60 lbs., and.

even with the paper a coated one and so usually with less inherent stiffness than otherwise, about 10 to 15 lbs. pressure suffices, practically-regard;-

less of the size of the sheet. Such air can be supplied to the pipes 22 and 28, as by way of the rubber hose 23 and 29, from the compressor already installed for other purposes, asv for operating a dryer-spray, in the usual printers plant.

The heat from the pipe-burner. 34, with its accompanying convection effect on the air above the. top-of the pile, does not, it has been found, inter-. fere with the described actions 'of the air-blasts: from the pipes 22 and 28 relative to the air-- cushions mentioned, and so, with or without the and safeguarding of the freed printed sheets is absolutely dependable under all conditions.

The new apparatus, or as it is desirably con-" stituted for use with a standard Miehle flat-bed cylinder press, the new attachment, so far asiis concerned the embodiment thereof now favored.

burner ignited, the positive-pressure handling,

and hence shown in the drawing, has been de'-.

scribed with great particularity, to bring out ous changes and modifications can be resorted to within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims following, which are to be interpreted:

as broadly as is consistent with the prior art.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the kind described, in com bination with a reciprocating carriage for delivering a single printedsheet to a position over a pile location and there freeing said sheet during a retraction stroke of the carriage, means for delivering an air-blast against said sheet downjwardly thereon following its complete release.

from the carriage; means for moving the means first-mentioned in a direction of carriage recipro cation; a second means for ,delivering an airblast downwardly against said sheet; and a means for movingsaid second means. in timed relation with the reciprocation of the carriage, said second means being placed to have its air-blast act downwardly on a previously freed sheet during transport of a subsequent sheet by the carriage on a forward stroke of the latter and to have its air-blast ac-t downwardly on said subsequent sheet during freeing thereof from the carriage incidental to the ensuing retraction stroke of the carriage.

2. In apparatus of the kind described, in com-- bination with a reciprocating carriage for delivering a single printed sheet to a position over a pile location and there freeing said sheet durreciprocation; a second means for delivering an air-blast downwardly against said sheet; anda means mounting said second means above the '15- ing a retraction stroke of the carriage, means for delivering an air-blast against said sheet downwardly thereon following its complete release from the carriage; means for moving the means first-mentioned in a direction of carriage sheet on the carriage, and including a member I periodically moved in timed relation to the movement of the carriage by automatic means forming part of said apparatus, whereby during a re traction stroke of the carriage the air-blast from said second means is directed at an inclination to the vertical.

3. In apparatus of the kind described, in combination with a reciprocating carriage for delivering a single printed sheet to a position over a pile location and there freeing said sheet during a retraction stroke of the carriage, means for delivcring an air-blast downwardly against said sheet following its complete release from the carriage; means for alternately moving the air-blast means in opposite directions while maintaining; said air-blast at a constant inclination to the vertical; a second means for delivering an airblwt downwardly on said sheet; and means for moving said second means in a direction of stroke of the carriage.

4. In apparatus of the kind described, in combination with a reciprocating carriage for delivering a single printed sheet to a position over a pile location and there freeing said sheet during a retraction stroke of the carriage, means for delivering an air-blast against said sheet downwardly thereon following its complete release from the carriage; means for moving the means first-mentioned in a direction of carriage reciprocation; a second means for delivering an air-blast downwardly against said sheet; a means for moving said second means in a direction of carriage reciprocation; and a means for causing the first-named means and said second means to deliver their air-blasts substantially in parallel directions during one stroke of the carriage.

5. In apparatus of the kind described, in combination with a reciprocating carriage fordelivering a single printed sheet to a position over a pile location and there freeing said sheet during a retraction stroke of the carriage, means for delivering an air-blast against said sheet downwardly thereon following its complete release from the carriage; means for moving the means first-mentioned in a .direction'of carriage reciprocation; a second means for delivering an air-blast downwardly against said sheet; and a means for moving said second means in a direction of carriage reciprocation, the first-named means and said second means delivering their air-blasts substantially parallelly during one stroke of the carriage; and means for causing discharge of said air-blasts in dissimilar directions during another stroke of the carriage.

6. In apparatus of the kind described, in combination with a reciprocating carriage for delivering a single printed sheet to a position over a pile location and there freeing said sheet during a retraction stroke of the carriage, means for delivering an air-blast against said sheet downwardly thereon following its complete release from the carriage; means for moving the means first-mentioned in a direction of carriage reciprocation; a second means for delivering an air-blast downwardly against said sheet; a means for moving said second means in a direction of carriage reciprocation; and means for causing both said air-blasts to be discharged in a direction-inclined toward the front end of the pile during a retraction stroke of the carriage.

7. A sheet-delivery-saieguarding attachment for a printing press having a sheet transporting reciprocating carriage, a rockable solid rod, and means for rocking said rod in timed relation with the movement of the carriage,--characterized bythe combination of a conduit for delivering an air-blast downwardly on a sheet being trans ported by said carriage to delivery location, said conduit being a hollow rod substituted for the solid rod aforesaid and having air-blast emitting means therealong and so adjacent to its undersidethat when said pipe is rocked to one position said blast is discharged substantially vertically downward. I

8. Ari attachment as in claim '7, and including a second means for delivering an air-blast doWn wardly directed from the carriage, said second means being fixed on the carriage at a point ahead of said conduit and at a level below the plane of sheet lie on the carriage.

9. An attachment as in claim '7, and including a second means for delivering an air-blast downwardly directed from the carriage, said second means being on the carriage at a point ahead of said conduit and at a level lower than the plane of sheet lie on the carriage, said second means having air-blast emitting means extended therealong and placed to deliver said air-blast at an angle to the vertical, said second means being fixed on the carriage to maintain the direction of delivery of said air-blast constant.

. HARRY E. S'I'OLPER. 

